Travel story

Okay, you have flown to another city for a meeting/interview/presentation.

The flight is on time. You find the baggage claim and the shuttle to the car rental location.

Then the fun begins.

Your midsized car rental has turned into a luxury sedan, SUV or minivan. The daily price just went up a whopping $70.00 a day! No, they have no other cars available. Yes, you can talk to a supervisor. Sure, you can take what they have or go to another rental company.

What? Your meeting starts in fifteen minutes.

You go to another agency and get a car. What? They have only minivans left. Fine. Take the first one you see. Great, a big scratch on the passenger door. No, you did not do it, but you need to get that confirmed before you leave the lot.

Call your client. Apologies, you are on your way.

What, google maps has you going left when you should be going right. Twenty minutes late.

Into the client's office, jacket off, presentation begins.

Five hours later, get to hotel. Reservation is missing. Sorry, only a smoking room left! Oh your rate is twenty dollars higher than quoted. Do you need to call your travel agency? Oh, they have already left for the day.

Get in the room. Get directions to dinner with client. Accident on the expressway? Get there ten minutes late.

Three hours later, get lost on way back to hotel. Get in at 11:00 PM and have a 6:00 AM wake up call. Great.

Do you see the trend? How many of these events could have been avoided with a few brief phone calls the night before?

Great events rarely happen - they are planned and executed upon. You get one shot in most cases - practice, plan and prepare for each one.